Whether in prayer, self-preaching, or encouragement to others, I think it is incredibly important to know how God is described in the Bible. And there’s a pretty obvious question that comes with mentioning God:

“What is He like?”

It’s a great question.

In fact, A.W. Tozer said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”

And the first thoughts that come to my mind include: love, promisekeeper, powerful, all-knowing, sovereign, present, perfect. But something I have recently began to enjoy is taking particular notice of how God is described in light of different roles. Not just characteristics or attributes, but true roles.

And two roles that God takes on are Father and the Bridegroom.

If we want to love what God loves then let’s take a joyful seriousness toward the words of God.

James 1:27
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

The Orphan and Widow
Orphan…
Looking at society today, you see many kids who, by choice or tragedy, have been abandoned by their father or by both parents. There is a void with a felt need. And the great news is that Jesus, our King, can empathize.

Jesus has felt abandoned by His Father.

He experienced a deeper “fatherlessness” on the cross in order that we never have to worry about union with our Heavenly Father. Our God is alive and present. Man’s role as a father – even a good one – is like that of a postcard of a National Park in relation to the Yosemite itself. It can give you a picture of the real thing, but no one would venture to say it is the real thing. The real thing is far better than the postcard could show you. God the Father is the true and better Father.

Widow…
Jesus came to Earth as the means to reconcile his bride with Himself, the Bridegroom. While doing so, He was rejected and, for the time being, has been separated from His spouse.

You don’t think Jesus sympathizes with the widow? The one who has lost her husband or the one who lost his wife? Jesus, like the widow, cannot wait for the New Heaven and New Earth to be reunited with the Church that He died for after spending 30+ years on Earth with. Miracle after miracle He proved His love and willingness to step into what is messy and broken.

Waiting, Marriage, and the Bride / Groom Relationship
Many single folks understand that Jesus never married. So we assume He has no experience in having to “wait” for marriage and, as a result, he has no idea what it is like to wait and feel so human.

But that is where we are wrong.

Jesus knows. And He doesn’t just know of how you feel. Jesus knows that same yearning that comes with waiting. He is next to the Father and waiting on the appointed time to reunite with His bride. AND HE CANNOT WAIT.

You may look forward to a spouse that will “make you all you were meant to be.” Truth be told, that’s a lot weight to put on an another person. It’s almost a crushing responsibility. The beautiful thing about Jesus is that HE IS the one true love that can fully complete us. We can look to Him instead of the world to make us all we were meant to be. He is truly everything we seek in an earthly spouse. He is the true and better Bridegroom.

He is not a cold, distant, or un-relatable God that you might imagine. God can absolutely identify with the hurts of this world while, at the same time, provide the absolute solution to those hurts- Himself.

And thank goodness He doesn’t affirm and answer all of our wants and whims all. We tend to ask God to send us a sign. He one-ups our petitions by having sent His Son.

It’s wild. I don’t think the roles that the triune God takes on are independent from the people He calls us to take special care of. I believe it’s on purpose.

Jesus has felt both pains of the orphan, the waiting bride, and widow – yet God is the ultimate answer to those hurts.

God the Father is the father to the orphan. Jesus is the Bridegroom to the widow. As deep of wounds the world can deliver, The God of the Bible provides a deeper treatment.

The Father is the true and better Father. And Jesus is the true and better Bridegroom. He is everything we could want in the earthly form to the Nth degree. And the solution to every relational problem. Personal and interpersonal.

If you don’t buy those statements then I encourage you to do some searching. And keep in mind…

Matthew 7:7-8
⁷ “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.”

Not to discredit Tozer and what he previously said, but be confident in what is true even if it has not sunk down into the heart.

CS Lewis touched on this saying, “How God thinks of us is not only more important, but infinitely more important.”

Ultimately, God thinks we are worth dying for. Made in His image, He sees us as broken individuals in need of saving – so that is what He came to do. For those in Christ, He sees us as sons. Adopted into His holy family. He loves us.

I hope this helps your walk and illuminates how much God loves you. He loves you and He likes you. He steps into the brokenness in order to reconcile the world to Himself. Understanding who God is should allow us to understand what He cares about. I want to care about the things and people He cares about.

Blessings,
JW